Death By Your Hands
by pinetree13
Summary: "Death by any hands but yours would be unbearable." Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, Padlock pairing, one shot.


**So I decided to try my hand at this relatively new ship. It's already starting to ruin my life so I figured, why not?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.**

Tony walked through the house slowly, cautiously. It was usually fairly quiet there, but this time the silence seemed different, as if it held a secret that it wanted to keep hidden from him. The three main occupants of this house had gone out, leaving him alone…. Well, alone with Paige.

Huge mistake.

No sooner had he thought her name than he saw a pencil flying toward his face. Skillfully, he ducked out of the way as he drew his own sword, a rapier fashioned to mimic the crooked hand of a clock. "Well, well, well," he began as they walked in a circle, neither taking their eyes off the other, "Miss Notebook, you are right on time."

She smirked at this expression. "Why, Mister Clock, that wasn't a very creative thing to say."

At this, their weapons clashed, sending a metallic clanging noise throughout the room. What looked like a pencil was actually made of steel, sharpened to such a point that it was a veritable dagger.

"My dear, must we always meet like this?" Tony intoned in his smooth voice.

Paige smiled. "I'm sure you wouldn't have it any other way."

Of course, she was right, and he didn't refute her on this. For the next few minutes, there were no words, only the clash of blades as another of their endless battles waged on. They were incredibly worthy opponents. If their full concentration was applied, neither would ever get the better of the other. However, one slip-up, one slight distraction, was enough to be considered a fatal mistake. And when one's enemy was also one's lover, distractions were frequent.

After nearly an hour, both of them were tired, sweat beading on their foreheads. "You'll have to be more creative than that if you really want to defeat me," taunted Paige.

"Now, my dear, we both know there's no time for that."

Paige was in the middle of formulating some witty reply, when she felt the pencil knocked from her hands. She'd spent too much time worrying about their battle dialogue and not enough time anticipating his next move. Now her back was against the wall, and Tony's sword was at her throat, applying pressure, but not quite breaking skin yet.

Naturally, her first thought was of how to defend herself. However, she figured that any sign of struggle at all would result in her throat being slit. He'd won this round.

Before killing her, though, Tony decided he'd have a little fun. After all, he didn't win much. Usually he was silenced mid-sentence by a pencil through his heart. There was no time for dialoguing then, but there was now, and he was going to take it for all it was worth.

Now he leaned in close, so that he could speak at a whisper and still be audible. "So was this creative enough for you, madam?"

Her voice was raspy due to the rapier pressed to her neck. "Admittedly, your timing was impeccable. I have no choice but to accept defeat at the hands of a better fighter than I."

Tony laughed. They both knew that, in actuality, she was the more skilled of the two. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Miss Notebook."

"And pleading?"

He shrugged. "There's no harm in trying."

She rolled her eyes, smiling. "If you're really waiting for me to beg, then you'll be waiting quite a while."

"Are those your last words?" His grip became tighter; the blade was forced further into her neck, breaking skin now, just enough that a small trickle of blood ran down to her collarbone.

"My last words are these: Death by any hands but yours would be unbearable."

With that, he thrust the blade in farther, and Paige began to sink to the ground. Quickly, though, Tony dropped his blade and caught her in his arms, careful to cushion her fall. "And killing anyone but you would be a waste of time," he whispered, though he knew she probably couldn't hear him.

He sat on the floor now, pulling her limp body into his lap as he waited for her to wake up, fully healed. He wasn't quite sure how long it would take, as they usually died together and woke up around the same time. Even so, he resolved to sit there with her until she reanimated. He brushed her colorful hair out of her face and watched as the gash on her neck repaired itself. Only a moment later, Paige drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Tony, leaning down toward her. The first thing she felt was his lips against hers.

As soon as they broke apart, she stood up, and Tony did the same, grabbing both weapons from the floor and bowing as he offered the pencil to her. She graciously took it from him, and they began their battle once more.

However, this time, at the first deadlock of their blades, Paige asked, "Tony? Do you love me?" This may have seemed sudden, but she had to know. She knew that she loved him, but she'd never asked him what his feelings were for fear of scaring him off.

"Paige," he breathed, using her real name instead of the more formal terms of endearment he usually used in battle, "do you even need to ask?"

**Reviews are lovely! **


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